盖茨警告北约不要让美国人独挑大梁

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned NATO allies Friday that they need to share more of the burden in the more than 60-year-old transatlantic alliance. His comments came during his last policy speech before stepping down as defense secretary at the end of the month.

美国国防部长盖茨6月10日(星期五)警告北约盟国说，他们需要为这个成立60多年的跨大西洋联盟分担更多的责任。他是在6月底即将卸任美国国防部长一职前，在北约进行最后一次政策演讲中说这番话的。

Gates had a dire warning for NATO allies - that the time for America covering more than 75% of the coalition's defense spending is over. “The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the United States' Congress - and in the American body politic writ large - to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense,” he said.

Speaking Friday in Brussels in what has been billed as his last policy speech before retiring June 30, Gates reminded the coalition of his past concerns that NATO would become a two-tiered alliance. “Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership but don't want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable,” Gates said.

在6月30日即将卸任美国国防部长一职的盖茨，星期五在北约总部发表了他的最后一次政策演讲。盖茨对盟国重申了他一直以来的担忧，那就是北约可能会变成一个双轨联盟。他说：“严峻的现实是，美国国会和美国政界会越来越失去耐心和越来越不愿意为一些国家花费越来越宝贵的资金。 这些国家不愿意为了自己的国防奉献出必要的人力物力，或是进行必要的改革，以成为北约认真和有能力的伙伴。”

Gates pointed to the ongoing operations in Libya as an example.

盖茨以正在对利比亚采取的行动为例。

He said that even though all 28 NATO members voted for the mission against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, less than half have participated and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission.

他说，虽然北约所有28个成员国都表决赞成采取针对利比亚领导人卡扎菲的军事行动，但是只有不到一半的国家参加了行动，不到三分之一的国家愿意参加空袭行动。He blamed this on dwindling resources. “Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they cannot. The military capabilities simply aren't there,” Gates said.

盖茨把这些归咎于不断减少的资源。他说：“坦率地说，很多那些旁观的盟国之所以这样，不是因为他们不希望参加行动，而是因为他们无法参加。他们根本就不具备参加行动的军事能力。”

Gates quoted one estimate that total European defense spending has fallen by nearly 15% in the decade since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

盖茨引述一项估计数字说，从2001年911恐怖分子袭击美国的事件发生以来的10年间，整个欧洲的国防开支减少了将近百分之15。

He said this has affected Afghanistan - the first “hot” ground war in NATO history. “Despite more than two million troops in uniform - not counting the U.S. military - NATO has struggled, at times desperately, to sustain a deployment of 25,000 to 40,000 troops, not just in boots on the ground, but in crucial support assets,” he said.

他说，这个事实直接影响到阿富汗战场。阿富汗是北约历史上参加的第一个地面热战。盖茨说：“虽然不算美国军队在内的话，北约有2百多万部队，但是为了保持在阿富汗的2万5千到4万5千人的驻军，北约的其它国家有时都感到非常吃力。”

He said NATO allies must take a united way out of Afghanistan and not operate on their own timelines determined by domestic financial pressures.

盖茨说，北约盟国必须在阿富汗协同行动，而不是根据由于本国国内的经济压力而确定的时间表各自为战。

But as the U.S. military considers billions of dollars in spending cuts to ease Washington's own growing deficit, Gates warned that future U.S. politicians - not shaped during the Cold War like him - might not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost.

为了缓解美国不断增加的赤字，美国军方也正在考虑削减数十亿美元的开支。盖茨警告说，美国未来的政界人士， 那些不像他那样经历过冷战的人，可能会认为美国对北约的投资得不偿失。